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murlough23
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« Reply #6640 on: February 07, 2011, 12:26:24 AM » |
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My Cousin Vinnie. Amusing courtroom hijinks. A good way to spend two hours if you like to watch Joe Pesci just being Joe Pesci.
Also, the finale episodes of Caprica. My God(s?), I did not see most of that coming.
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enemy anemone
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« Reply #6641 on: February 07, 2011, 01:22:13 AM » |
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I hadn't continued watching, but now I am curious!
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murlough23
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« Reply #6642 on: February 07, 2011, 02:13:48 AM » |
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I hadn't continued watching, but now I am curious!
Only the final 5 episodes (the ones that got yanked from SyFy's regular schedule when they decided to cancel the show, and then got burned off on Jan. 4) are on Hulu, so if you're caught up at least to that point, you can finish online - though I can't guarantee how long those episodes will be up. Otherwise, DVD is probably the only (legal) way to do it. And Season 1.5 was out on DVD before it had even finished airing in the US. |
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Vlad!
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« Reply #6643 on: February 07, 2011, 03:04:43 PM » |
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Despicable Me, first viewing.
It was not in any way a bad movie, but it also had nothing to recommend it as a particularly good movie. The ending was blatant, the characterization was spotty and inconsistent but not especially egregious, and the humor hit-or-miss; unambitious but largely inoffensive.
The only real evidence that anybody involved with Despicable Me's production actually tried is that the movie is well-focused and to the point. I realize this seems like faint praise, but in this era of meandering movies which believe that inane conversations constitute character development it's nice to see a movie which actually has discernible acts and only a handful of throwaway scenes.
There are a few crude jokes, which I find frustrating in animated movies. I would hesitate to take a child to see the likes of Shrek, for instance, because I don't want to communicate that flatulence is amusing. This is less because I believe this will somehow warp their moral fiber and more because I find these things by and large to be painfully unfunny and I don't want to encourage the next generation to feel differently.
Even so, it's a fairly harmless and relatively cute movie if wasting an hour and a half is on the agenda some weekend.
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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AldaForPresident
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« Reply #6644 on: February 23, 2011, 07:12:36 AM » |
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Paranormal Activity 2
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bloop
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« Reply #6645 on: February 25, 2011, 03:53:28 PM » |
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Enjoy our pub. user/pw: thephorum Follow me on Grooveshark or Spotify. username: iceybloop |
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murlough23
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« Reply #6646 on: February 25, 2011, 03:56:36 PM » |
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bloop
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« Reply #6647 on: February 26, 2011, 07:20:38 PM » |
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"Black Swan"
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Enjoy our pub. user/pw: thephorum Follow me on Grooveshark or Spotify. username: iceybloop |
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Vlad!
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« Reply #6648 on: March 03, 2011, 04:18:22 PM » |
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The "journey across South America" special on Top Gear (season 14 episode 6).
I felt like I had completed a harrowing journey, and I was just sitting on my couch watching the freaking thing. I really enjoy a lot of their specials (the Africa special and the Vietnam special stand out in my mind), but this one was well and truly epic.
Jeremy, attempting to pass an oncoming vehicle on el camino de la muerte: "This is terrifying. Poo is coming out right now"
James, before embarking on el camino de la muerte: "I am honestly afraid of heights. It is my chief failing...among many, I'll grant. So you know that bit you do, where you ram my car from behind and then ha ha we all have a larf? If you do that here, I'll cut your [bleep] head off. *looks at camera* Yes, BBC 2, you will have to bleep that"
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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murlough23
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« Reply #6649 on: March 03, 2011, 04:44:21 PM » |
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That's pretty much what most episodes of IRT: Deadliest Roads were like. I was joking with someone the other day that the next Ice Road Truckers spinoff should take place on the Yungas road in Bolivia.
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murlough23
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« Reply #6650 on: March 06, 2011, 04:03:03 AM » |
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Addendum to my last comment: I just watched the Top Gear segment you spoke of on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXLxszv9eCM. Terrifying, yes - I sure as hell wouldn't want to drive it, and I actually sort of like driving challenging roads. But that's child's play compared to what IRT did for an entire season in India. |
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Vlad!
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« Reply #6651 on: March 07, 2011, 10:17:24 AM » |
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S.W.A.T.: Firefight.
Apparently this was released direct-to-video. My friend got it from a Red Box kiosk instead of the movie we intended to get, so we went ahead and watched it anyway.
The thing about it is that it's not particularly bad. It's just incredibly uninteresting. The plot is entirely predictable, consisting entirely of tropes gleaned from better movies and strung together by boring transition scenes. The dialog is uninspired. The acting is lackluster. The villain is incomprehensible. And perhaps the worst part is that everything is driven forward by plot device rather than the action flowing organically from a well-developed story.
S.W.A.T.: Firefight is the sort of movie I would expect from people whose entire exposure to the real world of crimefighting comes from Tom Clancy novels and video games. It is neither good nor bad; it is completely unmemorable, which is a worse thing entirely.
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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AldaForPresident
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« Reply #6652 on: March 08, 2011, 11:19:10 PM » |
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The Special Relationship
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AldaForPresident
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« Reply #6653 on: March 10, 2011, 05:39:18 PM » |
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The Adjustmest Bureau
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enemy anemone
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« Reply #6654 on: March 13, 2011, 03:49:08 PM » |
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the unaired pilot episode of Dollhouse.
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enemy anemone
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« Reply #6655 on: March 15, 2011, 05:04:15 PM » |
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The King's Speech
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murlough23
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« Reply #6656 on: March 15, 2011, 05:07:19 PM » |
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An episode of Chuck in which the titular character figures out how to neutralize a nuclear bomb using saltwater, and an episode of The Event in which the U.S. government thinks aliens are trying to cause a nuclear meltdown, and the potential consequences of said meltdown on the population of Southern California are discussed in rather unnerving detail. (It's implied that Chernobyl was the fault of the same aliens.)
NBC executives must be doing a group facepalm over the unfortunate timing.
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murlough23
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« Reply #6657 on: March 16, 2011, 12:08:50 AM » |
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The season, and possibly series, finale of V. Sometimes this was a stupid show, but it's been a fun ride, and if this is how they're going out, then DAMN.
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Vlad!
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« Reply #6658 on: March 21, 2011, 08:24:38 AM » |
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Red Riding Hood.
Not as bad as I expected, actually. It's sort of like what The Village would have been if Shyamalan had played it straight instead of going for the "it was Earth all along!" twist. I realize that's not exactly high praise, but you can only work with what you've been given here.
I have to say, the location they filmed it at was absolutely brilliant. I see from the imdb page that it was shot in Canada, so I'm assuming they used a lot of their estimated 42 million dollar budget on special effects to make it seem eldritch and atmospheric. It is simply gorgeous. The music is also quite good, though at one point it seems like the composer was more interested in selling soundtrack albums than in fitting in with the rest of the movie. Even so, the score is definitely one of the movie's highlights.
The writing, on the other hand, is very inconsistent. Some of it is excellent, but then some is incredibly wooden or ham-fisted. Shiloh Fernandez delivers his lines in a way remarkably reminiscent of Hayden Christensen's Anakin in Attack of the Clones, which for me at least was extremely difficult to get past whenever his character was in the shot smirking at the screen. There are parts which are very well-written and the plot overview was also well-done, but it was very hit-or-miss. The ending, in particular, tries much too hard to appeal to the Twilight fanbase, and really ends the movie on a very sour note.
I also have to cast aspersions on my least-favorite cinematographic feature, the shaky handicam action scene. There are a couple of standouts where it really and truly ruins the viewing experience.
The film's one great redeeming feature, however, is Gary Oldman's performance. He is excellent in his role as Father Solomon. The character has been done before, but he really sells it.
Red Riding Hood, while not horrible or bad in most aspects, does very little to excite or engage. As a Hollywood-style thriller/romance, it is more than adequate, lending an excellent atmosphere to the general formula. However, as a creative or innovative work it falls down entirely. It would have done well to try and find its own voice rather than borrowing from tired cliche after tired cliche.
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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Aaron
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« Reply #6659 on: March 21, 2011, 11:40:19 AM » |
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It probably would have been better if it didn't have the same director as the twilight movie and use some same actors from said movie!  |
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Vlad!
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« Reply #6660 on: March 21, 2011, 03:03:50 PM » |
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It probably would have been better if it didn't have the same director as the twilight movie and use some same actors from said movie! Doh, really? That explains a lot... |
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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murlough23
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« Reply #6661 on: March 21, 2011, 03:06:26 PM » |
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Not as bad as I expected, actually. It's sort of like what The Village would have been if Shyamalan had played it straight instead of going for the "it was Earth all along!" twist. I realize that's not exactly high praise, but you can only work with what you've been given here.
That twist was what made The Village work for me. |
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enemy anemone
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« Reply #6662 on: March 27, 2011, 03:10:27 PM » |
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The Genius of Photography series.
I liked the first couple of episodes, but although I'm interested in photography, there was so much stuff that I didn't care about. or maybe I just didn't understand it. I liked the more historical and factual stuff, but subjective stuff is subjective, and I found it excruciating to sit through. and the art auction people, ugh. WHO CARES.
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AldaForPresident
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« Reply #6663 on: March 30, 2011, 02:42:15 PM » |
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Sucker Punch  |
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Aaron
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« Reply #6664 on: March 30, 2011, 03:18:38 PM » |
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Sucker Punch As bad as advertised? |
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AldaForPresident
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« Reply #6665 on: March 30, 2011, 03:23:54 PM » |
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As bad as advertised?
Oh, yes. That's one thing I liked about Entertainment Weekly's review of it- it basically said you can't be mad about how stupid this movie is, because it's being advertised as a "big, dumb mess." I've seen two of Zack Snyder's movies now and I don't think there's anything he's good at. (I only saw it because of Jon Hamm.) |
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Aaron
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« Reply #6666 on: March 30, 2011, 04:03:10 PM » |
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of the zack snyder movies i've seen: watchmen was average and 300 was below average but good popcorn flick. He's directing the upcoming Superman movie (2012 release) and I'm concerned he'll make it suck!
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murlough23
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« Reply #6667 on: March 30, 2011, 04:05:56 PM » |
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He's directing the upcoming Superman movie (2012 release) and I'm concerned he'll make it suck!
I don't think it'll need the help. Another reboot so soon after a failed reboot means they're destined to fail. |
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Aaron
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« Reply #6668 on: March 30, 2011, 04:07:53 PM » |
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I don't think it'll need the help. Another reboot so soon after a failed reboot means they're destined to fail.
You mean Kevin Costner as Clark Kent's dad doesn't mean BOX OFFICE SMASH?????  |
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murlough23
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« Reply #6669 on: March 30, 2011, 04:09:27 PM » |
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You mean Kevin Costner as Clark Kent's dad doesn't mean BOX OFFICE SMASH????? Which dad... Mr. Kent or Mr. -El? (Pfft, like it matters.) |
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Aaron
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« Reply #6670 on: March 30, 2011, 04:28:35 PM » |
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Which dad... Mr. Kent or Mr. -El?
(Pfft, like it matters.)
human father |
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bloop
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« Reply #6671 on: March 30, 2011, 08:06:22 PM » |
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I liked "Watchmen" anyway.
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Enjoy our pub. user/pw: thephorum Follow me on Grooveshark or Spotify. username: iceybloop |
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Brenden
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« Reply #6672 on: March 31, 2011, 12:46:49 AM » |
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I liked "Watchmen" anyway.
Me too, I felt like it was as good an adaptation as we were going to get. |
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Vlad!
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« Reply #6673 on: April 02, 2011, 05:48:25 AM » |
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Blade Runner, "Final Cut", first viewing.
Interesting; very atmospheric. It felt a bit like the plot was being led along in places, but I still enjoyed it greatly.
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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enemy anemone
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« Reply #6674 on: April 02, 2011, 08:49:04 AM » |
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Everything and Nothing
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murlough23
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« Reply #6675 on: April 03, 2011, 12:07:20 AM » |
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The Social Network. Overall, I liked it; I'll have to think more specifically about it so I can post in the thread concerning this film.
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enemy anemone
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« Reply #6676 on: April 04, 2011, 09:00:01 PM » |
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a few episodes of The Big Bang Theory. some of the jokes made me smirk, but overall the show isn't for me.
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murlough23
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« Reply #6677 on: April 04, 2011, 09:15:25 PM » |
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a few episodes of The Big Bang Theory. some of the jokes made me smirk, but overall the show isn't for me.
I'm not sure if you started from the beginning (it took many episodes before it started to really find its groove, and the pilot was particularly sketchy) or from what's currently airing (which is more or less typical of the show, though I'd say it was in top form around Season 2 or 3). Either way, I think the show makes more sense (and thus the humor catches on) once the characters have settled in a bit and you understand their motivations for stuff. And oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I finished Arrested Development this weekend. Such a deliciously demented show. I really hope they get that movie made. |
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enemy anemone
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« Reply #6678 on: April 04, 2011, 09:42:00 PM » |
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I watched the first four eps of season 1 (and the unaired pilot, which was horrible). I have the rest of season 1 on hand but have zero interest in finishing it.
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murlough23
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« Reply #6679 on: April 04, 2011, 09:53:44 PM » |
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I watched the first four eps of season 1 (and the unaired pilot, which was horrible).
I think everyone agrees that the unaired pilot was horrible. Later season 1 got much better, if I recall. I'm trying to think back and see if I can come up with an exemplary episode where if you still hate that, then you know you hate the show for real. |
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